Tag Archives: 3d design services

Local Race Car Driver Gets Sponsorship From The Weld Fixture Specialist.

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Rentapen Inc., of Waukesha, WI, a 3D design services company and tooling components manufacturer sponsors a race car at Slinger Speedway in Slinger, Wisconsin.

On April 27, 2013 Slinger Speedway opened up their gates and let the fans come in for the first race of the season.  Paul Reagles is one of the drivers that you can see speeding around the track at around 70 miles per hour.  When Paul isn’t racing he is attending Waukesha County Technical College for a degree in Mechanical Design/Engineering.  Paul also works part time as an intern at Rentapen Inc.

Reagles is a Mechanical Design and Draft Intern at Rentapen Inc; he started in February 2013.  His main duties are to use sketches and instructions from the designer to create assemblies in Solidworks and Pro/Engineer.  Rentapen Inc. specializes in building and designing weld fixtures for companies within the manufacturing industry.  Reagles is one of three interns that Rentapen Inc currently employees.

Paul and Car

Slinger Speedway opened in 1948, and the speedway has been a popular track for racing legends and stars such as Dale Earnhardt, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Rich Bickle, and Rusty Wallace.  Slinger is known as the World’s Fastest Quarter Mile Oval track and is now celebrating its 65th year of motorsports.

“I couldn’t wait for the new race season to start; I was so excited to try out my new racecar. I really appreciate all the help and support I received from Rentapen along with all my other sponsors.” said Paul Reagles

Realges races in the Slinger Bee Class which is made up of 4 cylinder front wheel drive cars.  He will be racing in a different car than last year, but he will remain in the same class.  Reagles will race a blue and black 1995 Ford Escort GT with a total of 13 sponsors, including Rentapen Inc.

Paul Reagles

“Paul is learning fast about Pro/E, CAD and machine design.  He knows how to remain alert to changes and how to pay attention just like he has to do while racing his car on the track.” said President Susan Straley

 

Rentapen’s main specialty is weld fixture design. They can design a manual or robotic welding fixtures based on the customer’s needs. Rentapen Inc. helps manufacturers that have parts that need to be welded together during production, for example, automotive, agricultural, or recreational vehicles.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  Rentapen is a Certified Woman Owned Business and owner of RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

Weld Tooling Design Company Introduces New Cost Saving Clamp Risers

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Lean Manufacturers Discover Time and Cost Savings in Their Product-Holding Fixtures With Clamp Risers by Rentapen

In the beginning of April, 2013 Rentapen Inc. launched new website pages for their line of clamp risers and spacers.  The clamp risers are made specifically for different brands of clamps including: Wolverine, Carr Lane, REID, De-Sta-Co, TE-CO, All American, and Jergens.   Each riser or spacer is tapped and drilled for mounting the designated clamp and uses counter bored holes for mounting the riser or spacer to the fixture or jig.

Rentapen’s design team has been designing and building weld fixtures for over 35 years. They realized they were designing the same clamp risers over and over again.  So Rentapen developed what is now called RAPid Risers™,  a line of tooling components that hold all of the finest brands of part holding clamps.  These standardized yet versatile risers save manufacturers time and money when it comes to the design and build process.

Wolverine Clamps3D CAD Models of the risers can be downloaded from Rentapen’s website along with informational PDFs that detail the design of the RAPid Riser™.

 “By focusing our processes and skilled talent on what we do well, we free-up our customers time, energy, and talent to be more powerful and productive with what they do well,” said Susan Straley,  President of Rentapen.  “That gives them peace of mind and contributes to their success.”

If a designer created a clamp riser from scratch, like Rentapen and all other machine tooling design companies used to do, they would have to go through a timely and expensive process that includes: designing the part; detailing; checking; ordering material; writing the CNC code; creating the part and finally inspecting the part.

This entire process takes about 77 minutes. Manufacturers are now able to download the 3D model from Rentapen’s website, save the model to their library, put the riser into their design, and order the block.   Once the model is in the company’s CAD library, the process approximately takes 4 minutes.  Rentapen’s RAPid Riser™ is saving the manufacturers as much as 73 minutes in design and build time.

 “The RAPid Risers™ are just another way for the fixture builder to save time and money on the design and build of weld fixtures or any other type of fixture,” said, Steve Pautz, Product manager at E.L. Simeth Co. a distributor of the clamp risers.  “The Clamp Risers is just one part of this unique design system that really works. E.L. Simeth Company, as the distributor for this line, has customers that use the complete line so we know that it works very well,”

RapidRisersRapid Tooling Components™ reduce the design cost of the fixture by eliminating the need to design, detail and check similar parts over and over again. Three dimensional computer models are provided by Rentapen Inc. that customers can use to incorporate into their designs.  These modular components are the new standard in weld jig and assembly fixture design.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Components. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information about Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891.

3D Models of Tooling Components Assists in Growth of Weld Fixture Design Company As New Part-Holding Tooling Pieces are Added.

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Rentapen Inc., of Waukesha, WI, Continues to Expand the Number of Components and Product Parts Available for 3D-Model Download.

In January and March 2013, Rentapen Inc., a 3D CAD Design Company added several new components to its 3D-Model download web page, www.WeldFixtureComponents.com.

Rentapen Inc., offers a large custom line of RAPid Tooling Components™ that can be downloaded for free to help manufactures save time and money while designing and building their weld and assembly jigs and fixtures.  RAPid Tooling Components™ are a new American standard for the machine design Industry.

An alternative to NAAMS, Rentapen’s components along with the 3D models have changed how Machine Design Engineers and CAD Drafters design their weld fixtures.

 “In 2001 we discovered we, as weld fixture and assembly fixture designers, were designing the same parts over and over again.  So we realized if we standardized on those parts we could save our customers lots of time and costs.  So we created RAPid Tooling Components™,” said George Straley, Founder of Rentapen.

Rentapen Inc., has a total of 9 different types of RAPid Blocks™ that can be ordered to fit different tooling fixture needs.  In the beginning, customers would buy the RAPid Block™ and then if the block needed to be altered, they would place the part in their CNC or take it to another vendor. RAPid Blocks are often altered to add a hole in it to hold a locating pin or a rest pad or to chamfer a corner.   In 2011, Rentapen Inc., began to offer customized alterations to their RAPid Blocks™.

Rentapen Inc., manufactures each block as it is ordered.  This allows them to keep inventory low and provide a valuable service to their customers.  Rentapen Inc., will customize the RAPid Block™ per the customer’s specifications. “Need a chamfer? No Problem.  Need a hole for a locating pin?  No problem,” said Susan Straley, President of Rentapen.

Productuon Part Holding MachineryAll of Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ are made in the U.S.A. This is in line with Rentapen’s vision as the U.S. Leader in machine design and tooling components.  Rentapen is dedicated to reducing costs for manufacturers. And their free 3D service is greatly help manufacturers on their lean journey.

Rentapen Inc., is the weld fixture specialist, and is home of RAPid Tooling Component™s. Rentapen Inc. has been providing machine tool design services to manufactures since 1976.  A Certified Woman Owned Business and owns RAPid Tooling Components™. For more information Rentapen Inc., please call 262-542-8891 or visit http://www.rentapen.com.

 

Weld Fixture Design 101 Posts A New Blog To Educate Manufactures and Engineers

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Rentapen Inc.’s President, Susan Straley, Educates The
Engineering Industry With Her Weld Fixture Design Blogs.

On February 25, 2013, Susan Straley posted her latest blog educating the engineering industry about an easy and practical way to determine fastener length. Susan Straley, known as the Queen of Lean Machine Design and President of Rentapen Inc., has been educating the manufacturing and engineering industry about weld fixture designs since October 2011. Her blog is called Weld Fixture Design 101. The lessons are being published as often as every two weeks.

The Weld Fixture Design Blog informs the audience on how to design a simple weld fixture, the use of their RAPid Tooling Components™, and trends in the many different outlets in the manufacturing industry.  The Blog is also designed to help Rentapen Inc., gain knowledge from their readers about what is important to them.  This helps Straley connect to her audience and potential customers.

 “I enjoy posting the blogs in machine design groups on Linkedin because there are both experienced designers and new students of engineering who participate in discussions and add their experiences and viewpoints to the mix,” said Straley.  “Then I also get ideas for future lessons.”

Rentapen Inc., has been active in the hiring and training of interns from many different colleges in the Greater Milwaukee, WI area.  Along with the Weld Fixture Design 101 Blog Rentapen Inc., has created a series of videos and instructions that have incorporated what Straley has written about in her blogs.

Design Fixtures and Jigs using Pro/E and Solidworks

 “I remember when I was just starting out as a CAD Drafter.  There was so much of the practical stuff that wasn’t taught in the classroom at school,” said Straley.  “And when I learned that 40% of the Engineers in the U.S. are going to retire within 7 years, I knew I had to start sharing some of the knowledge that comes from years of doing the work.”

The Weld Fixture Design 101 Blog demonstrates how to use Rentapen’s standardized yet versatile RAPid Tooling Components™. Rentapen’s precision weld fixture components are made up of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Shims™, Clamp Risers, RAPid Plates™, and standard shims that precisely hold your product in your weld fixture while it is being manually or robotically assembled or welded.

Subscribers to the Weld Fixture Design 101 Blog are sent notices directly to their email when a new lesson is posted.  However, the blog can also be found on the various social media sites that Straley participates.  There has been 47 different Blogs published and they cover a variety of topics from creating a tapped hole to steps to design a product-holding jig or fixture.  You can connect to Straley and Rentapen Inc., via Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin,YouTube, and many other social media platforms.

Click the link to view the latest YouTube video: Easy and Practical Guide to Length of Fasteners in Machine Tool Design

Weld Fixture Design Company Engineering Manager Seeks to Grow With the Company.

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Rentapen Inc.’s, Design Engineering Manager, Blake Peterson, Continues His Education To Improve Productivity.

On January 7, 2013 Blake Peterson started another fast paced group of classes toward his Bachelor of Science Degree majoring in Business Management. Peterson joined Rentapen, the Weld Fixture Specialists, in November, 2011 as Engineering Manager. Rentapen designs machine tools for companies that manufacture a product. Rentapen specializes in Weld Jigs and Shims.

The company also manufactures a line to weld tooling components called RAPid Tooling Components™. These RAPid Tooling Components™ consists of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, Clamp Risers and Shims.

Lindsey Frick, Associated Editor for MachineDesign.com, found information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which projects a need for 17,830 additional engineers each year for the next 10 years. Lindsey also wrote in her article that Community colleges are an untapped resource for potential engineering students.

Currently, Peterson is conducting interviews for an Engineering Project Manager that will quickly grow as Peterson grows. The Machine Designer position will involve the conception and design of weld fixtures and guiding and teaching CAD Drafters and interns as they learn.

Peterson, Engineering Manager, is expected to graduate in 2014 from Cardinal Stritch, located in the greater Milwaukee, WI area. Peterson is taking the necessary actions to get ahead in his engineering and management career. He is taking advantage of accelerated on-line classes to improve his ability to lead and expand his knowledge base. Some of the classes Peterson is looking forward to taking are Management of Leadership, Business Ethics, and Strategic Organizational Leadership.

At Rentapen Inc., Peterson is already seeking responsibilities outside the Engineering Manager title that he currently holds. He works closely with the shop to solve issues and evaluate scheduling needs. He works with the Leadership Team to expand Rentapen’s capacity to build small to medium weld jigs.

Peterson already has an extensive background of engineering management experience; however, Peterson decided to further his education in business management to understand more of the financial side of the business. The role that Peterson plays in the company, he hopes will transition from Engineering Management to more of the total Operations Management. Since joining Rentapen he has had to learn Pro/E CAD software. He has also learned each of the customers’ engineering standards to help him as he guides and checks the work of the machine designers.

Teach and Guide CAD Drafters and Interns

For the past three months Peterson has been guiding the Design Engineering Team as it focuses on reducing costs for manufacturers through lean weld fixture design. He has also been working with the Leadership Team to enhance Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™. RAPid Tooling Components™ are an extension to Rentapen’s mission to save manufacturers time.

The role that Peterson is aiming for is to oversee the operational side of the business. He wants to move into leading the managers and participating in the planning. His new education will help him to know what to do to increase profits, increase cash, and reduce costs.

Rentapen’s Culture includes an emphasis of constant learning and self- improvement. The machine tool company’s culture statement says, “Rentapen is only as good as its team members. We aim to hire and retain the best … We are flexible. We are constantly improving ourselves and our processes. We delight in learning new skills, improving ways of doing things….”

Growing Weld Fixture Design Company Enhances Their Web Presence.

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Rentapen Inc., the Weld Fixture Specialists, has been using a variety of social media sites to increase sales and educate the manufacturing industry.

Since April, 2011 when Susan Straley took over as President of Rentapen Inc., the use of social media has taken off in a positive direction. A new version of Rentapen’s website was also created in 2011 to help the company introduce CAD Drafters and Engineers about Rentapen’s time-saving RAPid Tooling Component™ line; increase brand recognition as the Weld Fixture Specialist; and educate beginning machine tool designers in the manufacturing industry through Susan Straley’s Blog – Weld Fixture Design 101.

 “I knew we needed to grow in sales and customers in order to become a stronger company. I asked for help from the SBDC. They sent a consultant to help us with our marketing strategy that includes social media marketing” said Susan Straley, Owner and President of Rentapen.

Merriam-Webster, defines social media as forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and micro-blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos). Rentapen Inc. is utilizing social media to find and connect with Machine Designers, Manufacturing Engineers and others. Through social media Rentapen can announce the launch of new products and educate CAD Drafters and Machine Tool Designers about how to save time with Rentapen’s products and services.

Rentapen Inc. created RAPid Tooling Components™, consisting of RAPid Blocks™, RAPid Plates™, RAPid Clamp Risers™ and RAPid Shims™, to help save time for manufacturers. Rentapen’s website makes it easier for CAD Drafters and Engineers to download the right Block, Plate, Riser, or Shim for their product part holding tool design. Rentapen’s website also makes it easy to connect with Rentapen and its President on various social media platforms. One of the largest social media sites that Rentapen Inc. uses is Linkedin. Via Linkedin, Susan Straley, has been able to interact with targeted customers, Engineering and Mechanical Design Instructors, and CAD Drafting students. She keeps in touch with key targets by posting updates to her profile with educational blogs and industry news.

Rentapen Inc., as the weld fixture specialist uses the blog and internships to educate students in CAD Drafting, Weld Tooling Design, and building Weld Fixtures. Another, large social media platform that Rentapen Inc., has been using since June, 2011 is Youtube. According to Youtube this site has been designed to allow billions of people to discover watch and share originally-created videos. Rentapen’s youtube channel attempts to educate and entertain machine designers and followers. The company created a video that has been seen by over 3,000 viewers.

“I am very grateful to the help we received from the SBDC. Before they met with me, I didn’t know what a blog or a tweet was. Now I am using this medium to attract customers and help mechanical design students learn some of the practical machine design tips they can’t learn in the class room,” said Straley

Social media sites that you can find and follow Rentapen Inc. on are Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Youtube, and Google +. These are great ways to stay connected and to gather valuable information about Weld Jigs and Assembly Fixtures and an innovative company, Rentapen Inc.

Images of Weld Fixtures — Weld Fixture Design 101

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Here are some images of weld fixtures we have designed recently. Also, at the end, is a new kind of bike to ride the Rails before they become trails. Enjoy.


 

 

 

 

 

 

Three parts are welded together in this small weld jig.

 

Top view, same fixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CNC leaves an interesting pattern on this weldment.  It looks wavy, but is very smooth.

 

 

 

Small Weld Fixture using Goal Posts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robotic Weld Cell Fixture that rotates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can see all the  RAPid Tooling Components(TM) in this fixture.

 

Sign Up in April for DOWEL HOLE GUIDE.

Sign up for “Education and Updates” on Rentapen’s website in April, 2012, and you will receive a free Dowel Hole Reference Guide for your desk top.  Signing up means you will receive an email when a new blog or press release is posted.

Now, I would like to share this, a fun and inspiring post sent from one of our  followers:

The unstoppable passion

http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=1757772&tn=0&mr=0

3D Solid model
http://www.supertopo.com/inc/photo_zoom.php?dpid=Mzs-Pjk8KCAq

Fwd View 3D Concept model
http://www.supertopo.com/inc/photo_zoom.php?dpid=Mzs-Pjk4JScr

Fork Assembly in Weld Jig
http://www.supertopo.com/inc/photo_zoom.php?dpid=Mzs-PjY-IyMi

‘Til next time…

The Queen of Lean Machine Design

58 Year Old Great Grandma Is The Queen of Weld Fixture Design

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Rentapen Inc.’s President, Susan Straley, Educates Engineering Students With Her Weld Fixture Design Blogs.

Susan Straley, the Queen of Lean Machine Design and President of Rentapen Inc. has been educating the world about weld fixture designs since October 2011. It’s called Weld Fixture Design 101 and can be found on Rentapen’s website.

The Weld Fixture Design Blog informs the audience first how to design a simple weld fixture. Then Straley’s future posts go further into the design details and more complex issues.

The Weld Fixture Design Blog is part of Rentapen’s Growing Machine Design Engineers Program. Rentapen hires interns and trains them while they work. Rentapen has created a series of videos and instructions on best practices.

The inspiration to create the Blog came when Straley found out that 40% of the engineering workforce was going to retire in 8 years. Straley wanted to share her knowledge and experiences that she has gained over the years through working with a variety of customers.

“I’m passionate about making machine tooling cheaper, easier, fun and fast. I want to ensure that the up and coming engineers understand the important aspects of weld fixture design,” said Susan Straley.

The Weld Fixture Design Blog demonstrates how to use Rentapen’s standardized yet versatile RAPid Tooling Components™. Rentapen’s RAPid Tooling Components™ reduce costs and increases the accuracy of locating product parts in a fixture.

“I started my Blog not only to share my knowledge about Weld Fixture Design but also, to gain more information from my fellow designers,” said Susan Straley.

The Blog format allows others to ask questions and make comments adding to the learning experience. Straley is quick to point out that she is not a degreed engineer, but utilizes the knowledge and experience of the engineers on her team.

Rentapen Inc., is located in Waukesha, WI and specializes in tooling fixtures that hold their customer’s parts together while they are manually or robotically assembled or welded. Rentapen is dedicated to helping manufacturers reduce costs.

Three Ways to Detail a V-Block – Jig or Weld Fixture Design 101

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The Art and Science of Detailing a V-block

Now that we have talked about how to hold a round tube with a V-Block and how to create a V-Block in Pro/E 4.0 (Pro/Engineer), now it is time to talk about detailing. How do you make a drawing of a V-Block so that the machinist can understand it, and create it as quickly and accurately as possible.

A Word About Detail Standards

I keep saying that Machine Design is both Science and Art.

When you work for an existing company, they most likely have standards that you will follow for dimensioning.

If you don’t have standards or are confused about how to dimension a part, it is helpful to spend some time getting to know how your parts will be made. When you take a break from the computer, if you can go out and visit the shop and talk to the people who make the parts that you design, it will be time well spent. A helpful CNC operator, or an angry one, can teach you a lot about designing and detailing.

When your company is reviewing their detail standards, be sure to invite some machine operators onto the standards committee. They will bring a perspective that could save the company time and improve the quality of the parts that are made. A couple things you have to keep in mind is that this part might be made again in the future. If so, you want to detail it so not just your current machinists can read it, but future machinists as well.

So. enough about that!

I have detailed the V-Block in three different ways. Let’s take a look.

So there you have it, three ways to detail a V-Block. I am sure there are other ways that I have not covered here.

Do you do it differently? Please tell me by adding your comments below. This is our chance to learn from each other.
To follow this ongoing conversation on Jig or Weld Fixture Design, just sign up for future Education and Updates on the right of this page.

Keep learning,

The Queen

Does Your Company Encourage Educational Growth?

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Manufacturers Utilize Education to Motivate and Retain The Engineering Workforce.

News 2011-12-15

According to the National Science Foundation, Division of Science Resources Statistics, “The majority of individuals in the labor force with Science and Engineering degrees are in their most productive years, (from their late 30s through their early 50s), with the largest group ages 40-44.”

So what keeps these engineers inspired in the work force?

“Education and learning more software is one way to get engineers ready for work force opportunities,” said Susan Straley the President of Rentapen Inc.

As the engineering workforce changes, employers implement retention and training programs. For example, Rentapen Inc., located in Waukesha, Wisconsin recruits and trains engineering interns. Rentapen has also implemented an education reimbursement program to keep their current engineer’s skills updated and their workforce motivated.

One of Rentapen’s design engineers is expanding his knowledge and updating his skills. Curtis K. a CAD Drafter at Rentapen Inc. just finished his Solidworks course at WCTC on Thursday, December 15, 2011.

Curtis has worked for Rentapen for one year and already has furthered his education to keep current with Rentapen’s 3D design services for customers.

“It is very important for a machine design company such as, Rentapen to have their engineers trained in both Solidworks and Pro/Engineer because Rentapen’s customers don’t all use the same software for their machine designs,” said Straley.

Curtis has five years of experience in Pro/Engineer and is beginning to work with Solidworks.

“I felt I needed to take the class because when I start working with Solidworks it will be easier for me to understand the software,” said Curtis K.

Rentapen, a company that specializes in jig and weld fixture design, encourages its employees to take advantage of Rentapen’s education reimbursement programs.   Since Rentapen’s design customers dictate what software they want their machine designs created on.  It is vital for Rentapen’s design engineers to have education in both softwares.

By: Bethany Kratz, Duchess of Cost Reductions